THOUSANDS of youngsters will be safer on the roads this winter in the wake of an initiative to make them more visible to traffic.

Almost 13,000 children in York are being given reflective stickers in a road safety campaign launched yesterday.

With youngsters returning to school after the half-term holidays and the arrival of the dark nights, every nursery and primary pupil in the city will be receiving one of the foot-shaped stickers.

The idea is to place them on school bags and satchels so that other road users can see children more easily.

The move is part of a range of measures to improve the safety of children in the city.

The council is working on a programme of safety zones in primary schools across the city, safe routes at three secondary schools and cyclist and pedestrian training at every school.

The authority's executive member for transport, Councillor Tracey Simpson-Laing, said: "These stickers are a fun, yet very important, way of promoting and educating children in the importance of being seen on their journey to and from school, particularly during the winter months.

"But being seen is only half of the issue and it is the responsibility of car users to drive at speeds at which they can see children and respond to situations without causing injury."